Head turning machine



May 1, 1945*- L.. MUSANTE I HEAD TURNING MACHINE Filed Feb. 13, 1945 Elisir-B..- ist..

SSSMA Patented May l, 1945 'HEAD Louis .eMus'anta Ans0la,.Gonn. A i Applicata@ Febrary 13, 1994s, :serial 'Na 47534-3 v f e claims. 01.' emssi .Illzisinvention relates to head turning machimes,v and more particularly toa machine of this type ifor operating on tubular workv pieces,

and especially to the :means for holding thetubular work. piece during operations `on `the piece.

In machines vof this type the vwork piece issus- 4ually `gripped from the outside with the jaws of a vcollet or .similar clutch, and if the walls of -the tubular work piece are relatively thin there .is danger `that the pressure 'of `.the .jaws will oomvpress or c-rimpthe walls vofthe tube causing -it toslip -or become loosened `during the `wor-king Yoperations on the piece or causing it later to crack or fai-l. This diiliculty has been especially troublesome in turning cartridge shells, Ias the wall -of the shell would be crimped slightly and would later failrfrom pressure in the loading peration and would have to be discarded. j

It is therefore a particularobjectgof this invention to provide means associateduwith the collet or clutch to support the walls ofthe tubular work piece from .the inside` against the pressure .of the clutch jaws so thatthere is fno chance for the walls to :yield or .be crimped by the pressure of these jaws. L i It is also an vobject to provide a dev-ice of 'this character which may `be applied to the collet or clutch now generally employed without requiring a reconstruction of the clutch. n

.Although the device is shown .in and described for performing turningoperations on a cartridge shell, it is to be :understood it is not limited to .such use asit may be employed forfholding any tubular work piece open at-either ting-off machines., and .the like.

With the foregoing and .other objects in .view

oneor both ends rfor various operations, in cut'-y I have devised the construction illustra-ted.inl-the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification. VIt is', however, to be understood the invention is not limited to the vspecific construction and arrangement shown, but may em- 'ploy various changes and vrnodiiicatiolsis within the scope of the invention.

In this drawing: f l y Fig, 1 is a .partial side Velevation and` partial section of the spindle assembly of fa head turning machine showing my 'invention applied thereto.;

Fig, .2 is a longitudinal sectio'rronr a largerr'lscale Y the drawing" olf the head showing the collet or .clutch and my y invention applied thereto; l l t A3 is a detail section showing a slight-modication, and f Fig, 4 isla longitudinalsection ofa `portion of the device showing .another modification.

The .spindle `of Fig. vl isshown vsomewhat diagrammatically,y no attempt being made to show all the details of construction as most of` them are old and well known andare shown merelyy to illustrate `the operation of my improvement. Ihespinclle is indicated generally at `5fmounted vto rotate in suitable bearings and drivenfroin any suitable source of power by a loelt running over a pulley. Tl. At one end ofl the 'shaft "is a hollow head '8 Within 'which ris mounted the clutch yfor gripping a work piece. `In the 1em- 'boaiment shownthis clutch` comprises a split collet.9 'having suitable' jaws lll, usually 'three in number, ,gripping a work piece 'I l, in "the present case shown as a cartridge shell,- on 'which turning operations are 'to be performed on "theex .posed closed end, in this case indicated by way o'f. example as turning 'the shell 'throw-out groove l2. The collet has 1an inner 'tubular end'13 land nis split longitudinally at spaced points about its periphery" in the well known mannen' as inl dcated at I4, 'to formt'he separate jaws I'll and 'toconnect them to the tubular endl 13 byjthereduced spring 'arm T5. Embracing th'efcollet .and slidable withinthe head 8 is 'a sleeve 4ll for controlling the operation of a clutch jaw. On

the outer surfaces lof the jaws are inclined lcam sui-.faces'l'l and similarlytaperecl walls 'I8 "are,

formed :on the `inner sid-el of `the 'sleeve LIt.

Mounted inthe outer end o'f the head "8`is 'a wash? er T9, andthe clutch jaws have radial'shoul'ders 2) against the inner wall 'ofthis washer. v"The inner vend portion 'of the `sleeve I6 is reduced,

as *shown 'at 2l,l and `within thisjreduced portion is 'a spring 2'2 'abuttng'at one end againstjthe shoulder 23 'at the inner yenel of the sleeve and- -'at its other end'r1or11la1-ly'pressingagainst the collet 9 to thus tend to 'shift thev collet outwardly and the sleevegl inwardly or in vthe opposite direction "to thereby 4,tend to shift vthe ycam 'surfaces F8 'backwardly from the similarly inclined sui- "faces I1 and to 'permit 'the jaws" 'to` move youtwardly'under action of the spring portionslS to release the work. These movements o'f course .are very small in 'normal operation.

Itwill be 'understood that as the walls Hof the tubular element orfshe'll are quite thinthere is danger the pressure of the 'jaws l0 might com-V press these walls Vor cause them toy 'yieldor be crimped.. This might cause the Work piece to loosen or slip during turning -orother operation on the exposed end of the Work piece, or 'the crimping ruptures or weakens the wall so tliatit will later fail or break during the loading or other operation on the shell. To overcome this difficulty I mount within the collet or chuck 9 a bar 25 which may be a solid or a tubular-bar and extends within the jaws IU, this end being a snug iit on the interior of the shell or other tubular work piece In the case of a cartridge shell, the inner wall is cylindrical for a. portion of its length, as indicated at 26, and is then tapered for a certain distance 2l toward the closed end of the walls ofthe work piece to yield inwardly under' the pressure of the chuck jaws I0, and therefore the work is always properly gripped land `held against slipping during the working 'operation and there is no danger of the walls being crimped or otherwise injured.`

The bar 25 may be conveniently mounted in the inner tubular end portion I3 ofthe collet and may have a flange 30 on its inner end seating between the spring 22 and the end of the collet. This does not interfere with transfer of pressure fromthe spring 22 to the collet, but it employs the spring to hold the rod in position and permits the rod to yield slightly should for any reason the work piece or shell be pushed in too farv through variations in the shell or too great movement of the feeding mechanism.

However, if desired, the flange 3|)A may be lo-k cated at the other end of the spring 22 against the shoulder 23, as shown in Fig. 4:. In this case" :the bar` 25 is made somewhat longer. The arrangement of Fig. 2, however, is preferred because it permits slight yielding of the bar 25. under certain conditions `as described, while in the arrangement of Fig4 the inner end or flange of theI bar is against the solid shoulder 2.3.

Within the hollow bar 25v the' knockout pin 3| may be mounted to extend through this bar so However, as the work might tightly grip the bar 25 it is preferred to have a positive operation of the knockout pin 3|.

vIn Fig. l, means for feeding the work piece or shell into the collet or clutch is shown diagrammatically. This comprises feed fingers to which the work pieces are fed by any suitable mechanism (not shown) these ngers then being reciprocated as indicated by the arrow 46 to carry the work piece into 'alignment with the collet or' clutch jaws I0, A feed plunger 41 is then reciprocated to'force the work piece from the fingers 45 into the clutch jaws and onto the e'nd of the rod 25`to locate it in the proper position therein. These may also be located by the rod l25. Thus the combination gives a more accurate location of the work piece,insuring more l25 is not limited to use with the knockout pin 3 I,

as shown, as the bar 25 itself could be operated as the knockout pin to shift the work piece a sucient distance outwardly after the jaws are released to permit a draw-out mechanism to grip the piece and withdraw it from the clutch and the bar, or the draw-out mechanism may be operated to grip the exposed end of rthework piece and withdraw it without any knockout pin within that its outer end 32 can'engage the inner wall of the closed end of the work piece to eject it from the clutch after the work operations have been' performed and the clutch jaws havebeen released. Thispin is shown as connected to the usual knockout rod 33 extending klongitudinally through the shaft and operated in proper timed relation with therelease of the clutch by suitable cam means (not shown). The sleeve I6 for controlling the collet or clutch jaws is operated by the usual tube 34 mounted in the shaft engaging at one end against the inner end 35 of the sleeve and at its other end operated by suitable fingers 36 through a cam 3l on a'collar 38 slidable on the shaft in proper timed relation with the other operations by a lever 39 operating through a suitable cam, also not shown.

The knockout pin 3| may be connected to the knockout rod 33 in various ways, as for example it :nay seat at`its inner end in a socket @0' in the rod and held by a suitable pin 4|, or if desired, as

shown in Fig. 3, therelmay be a deeper V'pocket 42 in the rod and the pin 4| pass through an elongated slot 43fin the pin 3|, with a spring ,411i at the inner end of this pin. This springl may be used' to shift the pin 3| outwardly to eject the work.

piece from the clutch when the jaws are released.

the clutch.

It will be understood from the above that this is a veryr simple device which effectively supports the thin walls of a tubular work piece, preventing their collapse or injury from the pressure of 'the collet or clutch jaws, and that it may be applied to a collet or clutch without reconstructing this collet. It will4 also be seen that this center rodl or support maybe so shaped as to support the entiretubular wall of the work piece, obviating any chance of any portion of these walls being crushed or'injured.

Having thus set forth the nature of my invention, whatIclaim is: l Y q 1 In a device' of the' character-l described, a rotatable spindle, a split collet in the spindle having gripping jaws for a thin walledytubular work piece, means for clamping the jaws on the work piece, a central tubular bar shaped to t the inner diameter` of the workpiece and located within the jaws of the collet to support the-walls of said work piece and prevent their collapse under pressure of the jaws, an ejector means mounted in the bar to` engage the work piece to remove it from the jaws and bar, and means for operating the ejector means;

2. In a device of Athe character described, a rotatable spindle, clutch jaws .in the spindle to grip a tubular work piece, means for clamping the jaws on the vwork piece, a tubular central bar within the jaws shaped to t the internal diameter of the work piece and support its walls against collapse under pressure of the jaws, a slidable pin in the bar adapted to engage the work piece for removing the work piece from the jawsv andthe bar, and means for operating said rotary spindle, clutch jaws in the spindle to grip a tubular work piece, means forclamping the jaws on the work piece with an end .portion projecting from the jaws, a central tubular bar within the jaws and including a cylindrical portion and a tapered free end portion to t similarly shaped inner surfaces ofa tubular work piece having a closed end and support the walls of the said work piece against collapse under pressure of said jaws, the end of said bar adapted to engage the closed end of the work piece to limit its insertion in the jaws, and a rod slidable in the tubular bar adapted to engage the closed end of the work piece to shift it outwardly in the jaws for removing the Iiinished work piece 4from the jaws and said bar. l

4. In a device of the character described, a rotary spindle, a hollow head mounted on said spindle, a collet in said head having jaws to grip a work piece and a tubular inner end portion, a

' means on the sleeve and the jaws .to clamp the jaws on a work piece, a spring in the sleeve reacting against the sleeve and the collet tending to shift them in opposite directions to release the jaws, a iiange on the bar located between the spring and the collet, and the free end of the bar being shaped to t the inner side of a tubular work piece and support the walls of said piece against the pressure of the jaws.

5. In a device of the character described, a rotary spindle, a hollow head mounted on said spindle, a collet in said head having jaws to grip a work piece and a tubular inner end portion, a slidable sleeve in the head provided with a shoulder at its inner end, cooperating means on the sleeve and jaws to clamp the jaws on a work piece, a tubular bar mounted to slide in the innerk end portion of the collet and including a free end portion located within the jaws, a flange on the bar at the inner end of the collet, a spring between said ange and the shoulder on the sleeve tending to shift the sleeve to release the jaws and to shift the bar forwardly,4 the free end of said bar being shaped to t the inner walls of a tubular work piece to support said walls against pressure of the jaws, and a slidable knockout pin -in the tubular bar to remove the iinished work the wams of said sneu for their fun 1ength against pressure of the jaws, an ejector rod mounted to slide in said bar to engage the closed end of the shell to remove it from the jaws and the bar, and means for operating said rod.

'7. In a device of the character described, a rotatable spindle, jaws within said spindle for gripping a work piece, a central tubular bar including a free end portion located within said jaws, said free end portion being tapered for a portion of its length and then vsubstantially cylindrical to fit the correspondingly shaped inner walls of a cartridge shell so as to Support the side walls of the shell for their entire length against pressure of the jaws, a rod slidably mounted in the bar to engage the closed end of the shell for removing the -shell from the jaws and the bar, and means foroperating the rod.

8. In a device of the character described, a rotatable spindle, clutch jaws in the spindle to grip a thin walled tubular work piece, means for clamping the jaws on the work piece and releasing them, a central bar within the jaws shaped t0 fit the internal diameter of the work piece and support its walls against collapse under pressure of the jaws, means for removing the work piece from the bar after the jaws are released, and said bar being provided with a passage to permit flow of air from and to the interior of the work piece as it is inserted on and removed from the bar.

. LOUIS MUSANTE. 

